Thursday, September 05, 2013

In Maher's The Fields, a 14-year-old in 1980s Dublin confronts his father's illness, a girlfriend's mental breakdown and abuse by a priest. But the novel balances these catastrophes with jokes that are both funny and brave. Maher tells NPR about New Age "binjy-banjy," kissing and teenage love.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Adelle Waldman's debut novel, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., recounts a relationship's demise from the perspective of Nate, a young writer-type. Reviewer Lidia Jean Kott says Waldman is most incisive, however, when she gets out of Nate's head and comments about life in New York and class privilege.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

James Salter has been acclaimed by critics as one of the greatest writers of his generation. He's been compared to Updike and Roth — but NPR's Lidia Jean Kott says Salter has trouble writing fully realized female characters, depicting them instead as meals to be devoured by the men.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

D.A. Mishani is the author of one of the few detective novels written in Hebrew. He talked to intern Lidia Jean Kott about why the genre has historically been unpopular in Israel and about the dangers of reading too much crime fiction.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Questlove, drummer and co-founder of The Roots, is coming out with a memoir in June called Mo' Meta Blues, co-written with Ben Greenman. The musician spoke with NPR intern Lidia Jean Kott about why the movie Spring Breakers made him feel like less of a rock star, and whether you can ever outgrow being a dweeb.

Lidia Jean Kott Newsfeed

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